News:
May 2, 2019
Giant currier service provider, DHL at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on Tuesday morning refused to accept the Suhum lawmaker, Fredrick Opare Ansah’s Ghana card as a form of recognized Ghanaian Identification Card.
A lady, whose name is withheld for now, told the lawmaker in the face that DHL does not accept Ghana card as part of recognized ID when it was his turn to pick up a parcel and the lady asked for his ID.
In an interview with Fredrick Opare Ansah on the incident that occurred on Tuesday morning, he noted that he expect DHL to have their legal outfit advice them because the law is clear as far as anything that requires identification is concerned.
“Ghana card is as good as form of identification, I have traveled to Cote d’Ivoire without a passport, I use my Ghana card, I was allowed entering. I cannot understand within Ghana doing a transaction DHL will say they will not accept this card”, he lamented.
Mr. Frederick Opare Ansah further noted that it is not right, as the National Identification Authority Act 2006 Act 707 section 2 sub-sections 3 says “in any matter that you need to provide Identification”.
“The Ghana card suffices when you ask me for my ID and I provide my Ghana card it should suffice”.
On the issue of other institutions like some banks refusing the Ghana Card as a form of identification, the Suhum lawmaker indicated that he has not had such an experience, more so in this age of technology and electronic banking mobile money, where you do not need to be at the bank physically, “It should be clear to all institutions that requires one form of identification, just as they take steps to install verifications systems and channel to the passport office, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and others, it is imperative that they establish systems to the National Identification Authority (NIA) .
So when I present my Ghana card you can verify the authenticity of the card that I am presenting to you, “you cannot give me any excuse that you cannot accept the Ghana card because that will be breaching the law”.
Again, the law is the law, once passed and assented to by the President it becomes law, in the case of NIA 2006 the Legislative Instrument (LI) came into being 2012 and we are all aware that since President Nana Akufo-Addo came to power in 2017 the NIA has been up and doing.
“It is now rolling out a nationwide registration exercise so are we saying all those people government has spent tax payers money on in registration for Ghana card, when they turn up at DHL they have to go back and look for their passport, Voters ID and drivers licenses before they are served, that is not acceptable”, he lamented.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com